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Saturday, August 14, 2010

TNG on Blu?

I just read something I never thought I'd read. Apparently, serious discussions are going on with regard to the possibility of TNG being put out on Blu-Ray. CBS Digital thinks it will be quite difficult due to the way the effects were composited, but they think it can be done.

Check out my sweet-ass Photoshop skills...

Obviously, this is incredibly exciting news. The TOS Blu-Rays are so overwhelmingly beautiful, that the thought of 7 more seasons (or dare we dream of 21?) of that kind of video quality, especially of what I and many Trekkies hold to be the peak of the franchise, is tantalizing. I certainly do not look forward to paying $60 per season (if Amazon's prices on the TOS sets are any guide) for them, but I will.

What is more interesting are the possibilities raised by the quotes from the CBS VP in the article. In saying that the compositing is what presents the problem, this leads me to believe that there is the possibility that all the original elements were shot on film (which potentially can be at 1080p or higher resolution, depending on film stock), and then composited by computer on video (which struggles to get to 480p resolution, depending on how many compositing passes there were). It also implies that these film elements still exist, whether in whole or in part, to work from.

So it seems like there would be two (or perhaps three) possibilities:

1. Film elements from both sets of shots (acting and effects) exist as separate elements, and can be recomposited in higher-definition (1080p? I wonder...) than the original video at whatever the highest resolution is that the film elements allow. This would result in a brand new higher-definition master of TNG, with none of the fuzziness and graininess that the current DVDs display during effects shots.

2. Film elements exist for the acting, but not the effects. Thus, a higher-definition version of the acting portions of TNG could be struck, but new effects shots, similar to those in the TOS remaster (we can only hope and pray to the Great Bird of the Galaxy that the Okudas would be in charge of such a project), would have to be inserted into scenes.

Anyway, this is incredibly exciting news. The thought of getting something close to the spectacular TOS Blu-Ray sets with TNG content is one I had not dared dream prior to this announcement. It may take a year or two, but I wait with bated breath.